1. Technical Field
This invention relates in general to hard disk drives and in particular to a hard disk drive carrier with light pipe guides for the drive activity lights.
2. Background Art
Hard disk drives (HDD) that are removable during operation in a computer or peripheral systems environment are sometimes referred to as "hot-pluggable." An HDD is typically mounted in a hard disk drive carrier prior to installation in a system. An HDD carrier is a frame-like structure which attaches to the HDD to assist in its insertion into or removal from the system. HDD carriers also protect the HDD when it is outside of the systems environment. HDD carriers are typically constructed out of metal and/or polymeric materials.
The system contains several HDD's, each of which may be readily interchangeable in the system. The HDD's are mounted in bays in a chassis located within a system enclosure. The system typically has an activity light or lights for each bay that indicate operational functions. Unfortunately, the lights are usually located at the rear of the enclosure and not visible once the HDD and carrier assembly is installed. Thus, an apparatus and method for coupling a hot-pluggable drive in a system and monitoring the activity lights of the system while the drive is in operation is needed.